Can Porter County Keep it's Sky Dark?

I know there are plenty of political blogs out there, all analyzing Tuesday’s election results, and I have no intention of doing broad political commentary. However, as disappointed as I was with the results of the elections on a national, state, and local level, there was one race that hit me hard. It could also have an impact for me personally, and could portend problems for local astronomers, which is why I can write about it here.


My regular readers will remember that on October 5, the Porter County Commissioners passed a resolution to endorse reduction of light pollution. Commissioner Bob Harper, on passing the resolution stated, “We feel this is important.” I was surprised that the resolution passed easily, largely because Commissioner Harper is known locally as the “candidate of NO” for opposing the Porter County joining the Regional Development Authority. He felt strongly that the county should tightly control growth and development, which I found out nicely corresponded with our desire to reduce light pollution in the county.


On Tuesday, Harper lost his re-election bid to Republican candidate Nancy Adams, a local restaurant owner. Adams favors Porter County joining the Regional Development Authority, and is looking to spur growth and development in the county. Obviously, growth leads to more lighting. That’s fine, we need jobs, just like the rest of the state and nation, but I would like to see that all new development implements responsible lighting. Adams will be the minority voice among county commissioners, so hopefully last month’s resolution will not be repealed. Indeed, Commissioner John Evans also supported the measure, and seemed to enjoy viewing the Jovian system and learning a little about astronomy after that meeting.


I realize it’s too early to race to conclusions about the fate of the light pollution resolution, but it’s not too early to think about the political climate’s impact upon it in the future. I plan to contact International Dark Sky Association board member Audrey Fischer soon about the implications of the election. Audrey was the driving force behind the resolution, and might know better than me what steps can be taken to protect what she fought to achieve.


I would like to work with the county commissioners not only to keep the resolution on the books, but to expand it, making it enforceable. It would also be a good model to take to municipalities in the region. Friends congratulated me after hearing that Porter County adopted a light pollution resolution, but also warned to be vigilant against it’s possible repeal. Tuesday election results reminded me that what’s worth fighting to get is worth fighting to maintain.


http://pchris00pnc.blogspot.com/2010/10/porter-county-to-reduce-light-pollution.html

Dual Transits of Ganymede & Europa, Oct. 30-31

Last Saturday night I was looking forward to observing the many events involving the Galilean Moons, but I was also committed to doing something Halloweeny with Hillary. We even had a public argument on Facebook about what to do that night. Enter Chicago Astronomer Patrick to save the night for us, and mix astronomical observing with a Halloween themed Séance party at his Saki record store in Chicago. This was something for both of us to enjoy.


http://sakistore.blogspot.com/2010/10/blog-post.html

http://sakistore.blogspot.com/2010/11/sakis-seance.html


The night’s events, Galilean and otherwise, were to start around 7 PM, and we arrived right on time. Patrick saw us walking up to the store and came out to greet us. I was tempted to grab my Dob for a quick look-see at the Jovian system, but thought better of it. In hind sight, I should have, since Ganymede was due to start it’s transit at 7:15. We had no observation of Ganymede before it disappeared in front of Jupiter’s disk.


Observations were made in front of the store between 7:40 and 7:45, with lonely Callisto far off to the right (inverted image), Europa nearing Jupiter from the right, and Io off to the left. More observations were made between 8:30 and 8:46, to confirm trend of motion. We had something of an audience both times, mostly curious party-goers out for a smoke break. We shared the Jovian system with pleasure, explaining how each of the inner three Moons would be interacting with the planet that night.






Hillary in front of the store. It was a fun spot to observe, with costumed people coming by to have a look at Jupiter & Moons.


Although the forecasts were favorable for a clear night of observing, during the second round of viewing clouds were starting to move in from the Lake. Not cool, but they were scattered, and could be dealt with.


Since we had missed Ganymede’s point of contact to start it’s transit, our first observed event was the start of Europa’s transit, scheduled to occur at 9:22. Clouds were increasing, and seeing conditions had deteriorated, and I thought I observed first contact at 9:17. The total transit was to begin at 9:26, and this fits with what was observed, although between clouds, Europa could still be discerned near the limb until at least 9:33. The show had already ended, and Patrick had left to go home and feed his pets a few minutes before. When the clouds became impenetrable, I concluded observations in front of the store, and Hillary and I met Patrick at his house.


When we arrived, we had a few minutes to kill before the next event, Ganymede reappearing on the left limb (again, all of these descriptions are based on an inverted view). Patrick treated us to green tea before heading down the street to Sunken Gardens Park, my Dobsonian in tow. Ganymede was set to emerge at 10:15, with last point of contact at 10:25. Seeing conditions were still bad, but the clouds were not as bad as when we left the store. Therefore, Ganymede was not seen emerging from the limb until 10:21. Once we had all seen Ganymede slipping away from it’s master, it was already time to get ready for the next event, Io disappearing behind Jupiter. For a few minutes, though, we had the two moons together, just to the left of Jupiter.


The partial occultation of Io, starting at 10:33, was observed as best as could be done. At 10:36, Io was still partially visible, and should have been for at least another minute, but a cloud moved in and stole the moment of total occultation. With half an hour before the next event, we bounced around the sky. Orion was showing above the trees, and the Great Nebula was observed and discussed, particularly the 3D depiction of it in the Hubble IMAX film.


By 11:00, it was time to turn attention back to the Jovian system. Ganymede and Europa’s shadows were to fall upon the great disk in short succession, Ganymede starting at 11:04, and Europa at 11:14. Due to foreshortening on the limb and poor condition (saying nothing of my scope’s imperfect collimation), Ganymede’s shadow was not observed until 11:18, with separation from the limb noticed at 11:21. Europa’s shadow was more subtle, and I do not have it noted when it was first observed. Cloud cover thickened at 11:26, so we returned to Patrick’s house to warm up and refill mugs of tea. Although we returned for one last round at midnight for Europa’s emersion from the Jovian disk at 12:06, I do not have Europa noted as visible until 12:11, just as it’s partial transit was ending. The late night chill and worsening clouds cut our session short after that.


Hillary and I hung out for a little while before calling it a night, and heading back to Indiana. As Patrick’s Moon images above show, conditions did improve after we left, but I think we made the right call. We had seen a number of Galilean events already, more than I normally see in a good week. Patrick and Hillary are free to comment, but I will readily admit that after the first observation in front of the store, I was very focused and determined to stay on schedule, and observe every subsequent event after that. It was one of my most disciplined observation sessions ever, despite setting up and breaking down (Patrick is maybe slightly jealous of this capability) five times during the course of the night, at two locations. I like my leisurely tours of the sky when I’m alone, but this was an action packed night out in the Jovian system, and I wanted to document it as best possible. Unfortunately, my images are not worthy of posting, and don’t prove much of anything, except that I have a lot of ground to make up in the realm of astrophotography. Thank you to Patrick for hosting Hillary and me. I had a fun time, both at the Saki Séance party, and the observing during and after. And thanks to both of you for putting up with my single-mindedness of what’s next, what’s next, what’s next???

Notre Dame Prof Talks About Extraterrestrial Life Debate

Last Thursday I went to Valparaiso University for a lecture by Dr. Michael J. Crowe of the University of Notre Dame called, “The Extraterrestrial Life Debate: A Historical Perspective.”






Dr. Michael J. Crowe of the University of Notre Dame (left).


Dr. Crowe chronicled 17 key developments in the debate about extraterrestrial life in western philosophy. I did not take notes (which I am regretting as I write), but it follows his book The Extraterrestrial Life Debate, 1750-1900. Astronomers and philosophers including Bruno, Kant, Huygens, William Herschel, Percival Lowell have all argued in favor of the plurality of worlds and/or life in the universe. However, I was surprised to find out that Peter the Great of Russia wanted Huygens’s writings translated into Russian, including the possibility of alien life. At the time, there were no books translated into Russian regarding the Copernican system. Dr. Crowe explained that the printer was so shocked by the content that he tried to destroy the copies because he thought they were Satanic!

Dr. Crowe’s research debunks the common modern notion that the debate over extraterrestrial life began in recent decades, and has gone back to Leucippus, Democritus, and Epicuris in ancient Greek times. While astrobiologists and astrophysicists are making great strides toward finding extraterrestrial life, the debate is sure to go on for decades, and perhaps centuries to come.


Dr. Crowe's lecture can be found in PDF form here:

www.michaelsheiser.com/UFOReligions/Crowe.pdf

All Night at the Indiana Dunes, Oct. 9-10, 2010

Chicago Astronomers Joe and Bill came out to Indiana Dunes State Park Tuesday, October 5 for a deep sky and Comet Hartley observation. Before leaving that night, park rangers invited them to come back out for an all night session, away from public eyes if they chose. Saturday, October 9, Joe and Bill took the rangers up on the offer.


I was running late (of course), and had to stop at Kmart for an SD card for my camera, and then something to eat before going to the Dunes all night. While waiting in the Taco Bell drive-thru in Chesterton, I spotted the 2 day old Moon at 6:20 PM CDST, winning Chicago Astronomer Curt’s New Moon Challenge!


We were only about two miles from the state park, so I hurried to catch the Moon before setting. My friends Candi and Stephanie were also waiting to see some things before Hillary and I joined Joe and Bill. The only line of sight for the Moon was on the beach. I wasn’t thrilled about possibly getting sand in the mount, but it had to be done. We followed the Moon for a few minutes before it dropped among the trees in the distance.























After losing the Moon, I took the telescope back to the parking lot to observe Jupiter while waiting for darkness to fall. We had a lineup of Galilean Moons like I’ve never seen before. One was behind Jupiter, and the other three were to the left (west) in an almost perfect equatorial triangle. Callisto was the bottom point, moving towards the planet, while the other two were travelling away from Jupiter.







I took Stephanie and Candi through a quick tour of the showpieces of the evening, including the Owl/E.T. Cluster, the Double Cluster, the Ring Nebula, Andromeda Galaxy, with a description of each. I forgot Uranus, but pointed out the star Fomalhaut, which I’ve been making a point to do since the discovery of exoplanet Gliese 581g. Gliese 581g is the first possible Earth-like exoplanet residing in it’s star’s habitable zone. Since it’s announced discovery people have been asking about it specifically, and exoplanets generally. Fomalhaut is a unique star to point out because it is only one of three star systems with exoplanets directly imaged.




Stephanie, her son Brandon, and Candi.


Hillary had some personal issues on her mind, and I was anxious to find Joe and Bill, so I kept the observation short. I knew Joe wanted it to be a private observation, so I didn’t invite Candi and Stephanie to join us. In retrospect, I think it would have been okay for them to come over for a little while.


We drove over to the west parking lot, which I have walked past from the beach dozens of times and never knew it was there because a sand dune blocks it from view by the Lake. I killed the headlights and saw several red lights in the middle of the parking lot, and slowly drove over. Getting out of my car turned into a small adventure, since I have no way to turn off the dome light when the doors open. I climbed out the window, Dukes of Hazzard style, and draped a blanket over the driver’s side to block the light while we had the doors open.




Joe, observing with his C11, bathed in red light. Photo credit: Joe Guzman.




Hillary offering Joe a cookie. Photo credit: Joe Guzman.


By coincidence, Larry from Michigan City was observing when Bill and Joe arrived. I met Larry only a few days before, at the Porter County Commissioners meeting. Larry had a homemade Dobsonian, built from scrap wood. Mac, a young Chicago Astronomer was there with his dad and his Orion short tube 6” Dobsonian. Bill had brought his 5” Vixen Newtonian for astro-imaging, and of course Joe had the C11.


I slowly set up my 6” Dob, enjoying the early night, letting my eyes adapt to the darkness, and soaking up starlight. There was no hurry, we had all night for viewing. My first order of business was Comet Hartley, or course. I was expecting a difficult endeavor, but finally the comet actually looked like a COMET! I couldn’t believe it was so easy, so I called Bill over to verify. He agreed. It was soon obvious, as Hartley approached the star Miram, passing it around midnight.


As a group we observed dozens of targets through the night. One of my highlights was when Bill found M33, the Pinwheel Galaxy. I had long ago given up on it, but it was one of the first deep sky objects I’d ever tried to find. Globular cluster M15 was another first for me. I’m not sure how I’ve overlooked adding it to my observing list for so long. I also was on a stellar remnant kick. Usually the Ring Nebula is the only planetary nebula I observe, but I hit up M27 (again, I’m not sure why I overlook an easy target). When Gemini rose, I tried for the Eskimo Nebula, another sight that had always eluded me. I gave up on it quite a few times again, but kept coming back to it. Finally, absolutely sure of my star hop, I took a closer look. Bill was also looking for it, and I compared the views. It wasn’t what I was expecting, but I had definitely been dead on with my star hops. It didn’t look impressive until we put the power of the C11 on it. I also added M1, the Crab Nebula, to the stellar corpses observed that night. One of my last targets of the night was a challenge, something I’d never tried to find. The Cat’s Eye Nebula was rather low, out over the Lake Michigan, but I managed to track it down.


Mac and his dad left when the park closed, but Mac was pushing us all to our limits. At Mac’s suggestion, Bill tried for the Veil Nebula. With a time exposure image, he was able to pick up nebulosity. I’m not equipped for astrophotography, but it was cool to see some of the nice images that Bill and Joe were getting.


The temperature stayed comfortable most of the night. The last two hours turned chilly, and we were ready to go just before daylight broke through. Only Bill, Joe, Hillary, and I stayed all night, but we had a nice group for a star party the first half of the night. Like all good astronomers, we pushed each other to find new treats in the sky, and enjoyed sharing our finds with the group. It will go down as one of my best personal sessions, and having great company around only made it better.




What a great group to observe with! Photo credit: Joe Guzman.


Read our accounts and see some of the images taken that night here:

http://astronomer.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=Observations&thread=2913&page=1

Equinox & Harvest Moonrise, Sept. 22, 2010

I’m sad to see the summer of 2010 draw to a close, but as an astronomer, I also welcome the longer nights of fall, and yes, even winter. And gone too are the humid, hazy summer observing conditions of the Great Lakes region. Plus the time of equinoxes and solstices vaguely raises the public’s awareness of our collective, constant journey around our Sun. Throw in an essentially full Moon rising while the last summer Sun was setting, and Jupiter, only two days past it’s own opposition of the Sun, last week’s equinox was an observation not to be missed.


No telescopes were involved, and I didn’t go anywhere public, but stayed home and appreciated the sights in the sky. Clouds to the west obscured the disappearance of the Sun below the horizon, but made for a pretty sunset, due west. On the other side of the sky, nearly due east, the pink Harvest Moon came over the trees. The Moon hadn’t journeyed far into it’s slanted climb when Jupiter joined the dance following almost in Luna’s footsteps.


I'm an astronomer, yes, but armed with nothing more than a camera to capture the moments, it was a nice reminder that for most of human history, astronomers, farmers, and almost everybody else observed the sky unaided by technology. We are participants in a cosmic journey through space and time, but sometimes it’s nice just to watch it all unfold before our eyes.


The Harvest Moonrise



























The Equinox Sunset

















Jupiter following the Moon.





The Moon through clouds later.